About Crossway Baptist Church

Crossway is a family of believers who is committed to the truths of God’s Word and living out those truths. We are thoroughly and purposefully preaching the Bible, and we hold the Bible as our only authority for what we believe and do. Because we believe that Scripture is the necessary food for the soul, our morning service is focused on looking at the Bible and explaining it so that everyone can understand what God wants them to hear.

We also believe that friendship and community are an essential part of living the Christian life. Because of this, we have integrated time for friendly conversation and encouragement during our morning service. You are welcome to visit with us during this time (Crossway Café is at 10:45 A.M.) and enjoy free coffee, doughnuts/bagels, and juice–and friendship too.

What we believe:

Matthew 28:19 and 20 establish the purpose for which every church exists. Our purpose, or mission, can be summarized in the word “disciple.” Specifically we have expressed this as two different aspects: 1) making new disciples by sharing the news of Jesus Christ, and 2) helping disciples to grow in maturity. Helping others to be disciples and better disciples is a dynamic work of God that he does through his people. Therefore, our mission is to be a dynamic church in Bakersfield that displays the grace of God to those in our sphere of influence.

We accomplish this simple mission through several avenues.

We are committed to showing people the glory of Christ so that they can have a saving relationship with Christ. We do this through preaching and by having face to face moments where we personally share the message of Salvation with people.

We are committed to developing community—genuine friendships where we can help each other become more like Christ. We do this through small groups, bible studies, Crossway café, and other social gatherings where we meet to encourage each other and study God’s Word.

We are committed to worship as a community. As we try to spread the grace of God and grow in that grace we find ourselves in awe of God and our hearts naturally delight in expressing worship for his greatness and goodness. We hope that as our guest you might find our worship contagious!

Crossway's mission can be summarized in two sentences

We want to reach those who do not know our Lord and we want to communicate God's grace to them.

We want to reach those who are believers and we want to encourage them to grow in God's grace.

Leadership

Brocks:

Pastor Mark attempts to systematically teach the Scripture, exposing the meaning of the text and helping us grasp its significance for our everyday lives.

Mark was born in California, but spent most of his time growing up in Wisconsin. He earned his Masters of Divinity and Masters of Theology degree from Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Doctor of Ministries degree from The Master’s Seminary. While attending seminary at Detroit, Pastor Mark served as an Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church in Capac, MI.

In 2005, First Baptist of Capac commissioned Mark to come to Bakersfield to start a new church. Pastor Mark continues to serve the church with his wife, Charity, his daughters, Sydney, Addison, and Charlize, and his son, Haddon.

Deacons: Brad Barnes, deacon of finance and care, and Phil Elie, deacon of facility and care.